Centre for Tantric Studies » Announcements

Early Śaiva Mythology project commences

CTS — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:32:39 +0000

We are pleased to announce the commencement of a new research project with a tantric studies component — Early Śaiva Mythology: A study of the formative period of an integrated religious vision.

This project, a collaboration between Peter Bisschop at the University of Edinburgh and Harunaga Isaacson, is funded by the DFG and the AHRC. It aims to investigate developments culminating in the production of the first Śaiva Purāṇas through the study of a variety of sources, including representatives of the epic, Purāṇic, poetic (kāvya), and tantric genres. It will be carried out over the next three years.

• For further information, please see the Early Śaiva Mythology project.

Dr. Luo visits to work on the Abhayapaddhati

CTS — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:31:19 +0000

Dr. Hong Luo, from the China Tibetology Research Center, visited the CTS during February and March 2009, and again briefly in
May-June 2009 in order to further the joint project on Abhayākaragupta’s Abhayapaddhati. Dr. Luo is reading sections of the Abhayapaddhati with Prof. Harunaga Isaacson and a number of CTS associates. The project members are preparing an edition and translation of this important commentary on the Buddhakapālatantra (see here for further information).

Manuscript research projects underway

CTS — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:35:48 +0000

We are pleased to announce recent appointments in projects connected with the Centre for Tantric Studies:

The Early Tantra project brings Dr. Martin Delhey to the ‘Nepalese Manuscript of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa‘ sub-project.
The Manuscript Cultures Research Group has two sub-projects of relevance to tantric studies. Mr. Camillo Formigatti, M.A., comes to Hamburg for the ‘Indian and Nepalese Manuscript Annotations‘ sub-project. Dr. Orna Almogi is attached to the ‘Variants in Manuscripts of the rNying ma rgyud ‘bum‘ sub-project.

For further information, please see our page on research projects.

Manuscript Cultures Research Group at Hamburg

CTS — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:48:57 +0000

An interdisciplinary project, the Manuscript Cultures Research Group at the University of Hamburg, has just been awarded three years’ funding by the DFG. The Group aims to advance the study of the vast manuscript heritage of India, Tibet, Japan, China, Iran, Ethiopia and the Arab world.

Of particular relevance to tantric studies are the projects on the Manuscript Collections of the Ancient Tantras (rNying ma rgyud ‘bum) and Marginal Annotations in Sanskrit Manuscripts, both to be overseen by Prof. Harunaga Isaacson.

Funding is allocated for a number of research positions, and also for the support of international Fellows, conferences and publications. The Manuscript Cultures Group builds on the University’s well-known experience with manuscript collections from Nepal, now continuing into its third decade under the auspices of the NGMCP.

Press release outlining the project (6 February 2008)
Summary of the subprojects connected with the CTS
Official site: www.manuscript-cultures.uni-hamburg.de

Funding confirmed for Early Tantra project

CTS — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:24:46 +0000

We are pleased to announce that funding for a major project in tantric studies has just been confirmed — ‘Early Tantra: Discovering the Interrelationships and Common Ritual Syntax of the Śaiva, Buddhist, Vaiṣṇava and Saura traditions’.

This project, a collaboration with the École française d’Extrême-Orient, directed on the French side by Dominic Goodall and on the German side by Harunaga Isaacson, and funded by the ANR (Agence Nationale de Recherche) and DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), aims to uncover connections between tantric systems through the study of a number of early sources. Texts to be edited include the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā, Brahmayāmala, the Nepalese Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa manuscript and the Trisamayarājatantra commentary. It will be carried out over the next three years.

• Please visit our Early Tantra project page for further information.

Agreement on cooperation signed with CTRC

CTS — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:07:44 +0000

An agreement between the Religion Institute of the China Tibetology Research Centre (CTRC) and the Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, University of Hamburg, was signed by both parties on August 27, 2007, in Beijing. The agreement inaugurates cooperation on the study of rare Sanskrit and Tibetan literature preserved in China.

The first project to be worked on under the terms of a sub-agreement is an edition of the Buddhakapālatantra and its Abhayapaddhati commentary by Abhayākaragupta. This project involves researchers from both sides, and the results are scheduled to be published within three years.

For further information see our page on the Buddhakapālatantra / Abhayapaddhati project.

Welcome to the CTS website

CTS — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:53:11 +0000

We are pleased to announce that the website of the Centre for Tantric Studies, tantric-studies.org, is now available, having gone live on June 9, 2007.

Our site offers digital resources for the study of tantric traditions, among other things, and we plan to steadily expand these resources over time. To start with, we present e-texts of the Paramārthadvādaśikā and Tantravaṭadhānikā (ascribed to Abhinavagupta), and the Hevajrasahajasadyoga and Bhramahara nāma Hevajrasādhana (by Ratnākaraśānti).

Announcements on the Centre’s activities, publications, and recent research will be posted here. To be notified of news “as it happens”, feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed. We also welcome feedback, which can be posted here directly, or sent to our contact address.